Introduction of Black Hairstreak

[Ian Thirlwell]

I take it the county recorder knows of these releases so that other
(unexpected!) reports of the butterfly can be traced back to their origin
and save those involved time and effort in handling the records?

BTW what kind of monitoring is being carried out? What species
were at the site previously and are now having to compete for the food
plant, what effect the introduction has had on them?

Ian

Nigel wrote in message <01be7f0d$078658a0$33e11ac3 at e5q5n1>...
>
>
>Quino15 at aol.com wrote in article <4537ceea.2439355a at aol.com>...
>
>> The question I would ask Nigel is whether the black hairstreak was or is
>> native to the area.  The problems with introductions are numerous: gypsy
>> moth, African honey bee, etc etc etc.  So, I think I have to agree with
>Neil
>> in that introductions need to be completely studied before they are
>> attempted.
>
>The Black Hairstreak is one of UKs rarest/restricted butterflies, It is
>also found in isolated pockets throughout Europe to Asia as far East as
>Korea. It is a UK resident! I'm not advocating introducing foreign species,
>just re-introducing endemic species to habitats that are now suitable for
>them to inhabit.
>
>Neil's "study" was nothing to do with the danger of these becoming a pest,
>far more to do with understanding the environmental conditions (And
>adapting them) to give (UK resident) re-introduced species a chance, and
>there is a lot to be said for this, as many introductions fail. My main
>point is it doesn't hurt to give it a go first, if you fail (which is
>likely) you then need to do much more study to ensure success.
>
>I don't think we are talking in the same league as African honey bee or
>Gipsy moth here!
>(By the way did you know the Gipsy moth used to be a UK resident? It became
>extict here without any effort by man to help it on it's way! It's a funny
>old World isn't it?)
>Nigel